Microsoft releases newest version of web browser

By Denny Carter

September 16th, 2010

Microsoft has released the latest version of its web browser, saying that it would work at faster speeds, deliver better graphics, and be less obtrusive to users, Reuters reports. Internet Explorer 9, unlike previous versions and many competing browsers, pushes itself into the background. Available in a public beta, or trial version, in more than 30 languages, IE 9 promises to be faster, cleaner, and more secure and will support evolving web technologies, such HTML5, a standard for presenting content. It is also more tightly integrated with the Microsoft’s Bing search engine, which the company hopes will begin to eat away at the dominance of Google. In IE 9, the rendering of graphics and text has shifted to the graphics card from the CPU, accelerating speed and visuals. As a result, Microsoft said, web sites will look and perform more like applications that are installed directly on a PC. IE has been the market leader in web browsers for many years, but has been losing share to Mozilla’s Firefox and Google’s Chrome. IE had 51 percent of the worldwide browser market last month, according to StatCounter, compared to Firefox’s 31 percent and Chrome’s 11 percent. Apple’s Safari and Opera Software’s browser had about 4 percent and 2 percent, respectively…

Denny Carter

Dennis has covered higher education technology since April 2008, having interviewed some of the most recognized IT pros in U.S. colleges and universities. He is always updating eCampus News with the latest in pressing ed-tech issues, such as the growing i